Liverpool travelled to Chicago on Monday with a 31-man squad for their pre-season tour of the United States. The group includes a mix of first-team players and academy prospects, with several members of the World Cup contingent expected to join up during the trip.
Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Alisson, Alexis Mac Allister and new signing Victor Munoz all featured at the tournament, with their return dates depending on their individual circumstances.
UK ONLY
Also included in the travelling squad are injured players such as Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic, who will continue their rehabilitation programmes with Liverpool’s medical team.
The inclusion of Bradley and Ekitike raised eyebrows when the squad was announced, with some supporters assuming their recoveries had progressed significantly.
However, the pair, along with Bajcetic and Endo, are expected to use the tour to continue their rehabilitation while remaining close to the first-team environment.
Liverpool believe being part of the group will benefit the injured players more than working alone at the AXA Training Centre during the next fortnight.
Providing the latest injury update on the players, Andoni Iraola has confirmed that Ekitike and Bradley will be sidelined for months. Iraola said: “Yes, right now, we have different situations in terms of injuries.
“[Bradley, Ekitike and Leoni] are big, big injuries, it’s taking them months to recover. And apart from those three, we have Stefan and Wataru that are close to training with the group.
“They will start in this during this tour, training not fully maybe but partially with the group. With the others, we have to wait more.
“In terms of order, I think the closest one to returning is Leoni. After will be Conor and Hugo. But especially the last two are still way off, we are talking about months and still a lot of time out.”
The Liverpool squad travelled from Merseyside to Chicago, which will serve as their base for a two-week pre-season stay in the United States. During the tour, Andoni Iraola’s side will play three friendlies against Sunderland, Wrexham and Leeds United.